Karns City hands Dutchmen 38-25 opening-season loss

Photo by Jim Mulcahy
Dutchman Joe Luchini, 32, follows the blocking of Tyler Cuneo, 66, on this play as he turns the corner to pick up some yards during the first half of last night’s KSAC game against the Karns City Gremlins played at Dutch Country Stadium.

By

Jim Mulcahy

The St. Marys Area Flying Dutch football team opened their 2012 season Friday night by hosting the Karns City Gremlins in a Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference (KSAC) Big School Division game.
The Gremlins were able to outscore the Dutch by a 19-12 margin in the second half to record the 38-25 victory.
“I am disappointed in the outcome,” said St. Marys coach Joe Schlimm. “We had a lot of first-game mistakes and we definitely have things to work on. This was a learning experience. We’ll learn from this and work to get better for next week.”
“I was disappointed in our defensive play,” he added.
The Dutch offense was led by Alex Feldbauer with 146 yards on 31 carries and two touchdowns. Joe Luchini picked up 87 yards on 14 carries.
Karns City was led by Wyatt Everetts with 140 yards on seven carries. Quarterback Tyler Kepple picked up 94 yards on three carries and was nine of 15 for 132 yards with one interception. Kepple found six different receivers during the contest.
The Gremlins took the opening kickoff and marched 80 yards on nine plays, with Dan Filges scoring from three yards out. The PAT was blocked as Karns City led 6-0 with 8:02 left in the first quarter.
After the teams traded punts, the Dutch took over on their own 35. On first down, Joe Luchini picked up 25 yards. Alex Feldbauer got five yards on first down, with Luchini getting one more on second down. Feldbauer picked up six to the 28 for a first down. Luchini gained six to the 22. Feldbauer picked up eight to the 14. He gained four more on first down to the 10. Feldbauer gained six yards to the four for a first down. On first and goal, Feldbauer bulled his way in for the touchdown. Christian Keller added the point after as the Dutch led 7-6 with 52 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Karns City got to the Dutch 26-yard line as the first quarter ended. After an incomplete pass on third down, Tristan Rhoades scored on a 26-yard touchdown run as the Gremlins took a 13-7 lead with 11:31 left in the first half as the PAT failed.
The Dutch were forced to punt on their next possession, while the Gremlins ran out of downs on the their own 46-yard line on their next possession.
On first down, SMA’s Robbie Glass was thrown for a yard loss. He gained three on second down. On third down, quarterback Alex Coudriet found Glass on a nine-yard pass play for a first down at the Karns City 35. Behind the running of Feldbauer, the Dutch moved to the 2-yard line where they faced a third and goal. Feldbauer got the call and scored from two yards out. The PAT was blocked, making the score 13-all with 2:56 left in the half.
The Gremlins took the Dutch kickoff and marched 65 yards in seven plays. They were aided by a hit-out-of-bounds penalty that gave the Gremlins a first down at the Dutch 16. Two plays later Everetts scored from four yards out as Karns City took the 19-13 lead with 55 seconds remaining. The try for two failed.
The Dutch ran two plays as the first half ended with Karns City on top 19-13.
The Dutch were forced to punt on their first possession of the second game. On their first play from scrimmage, Everetts broke free on an 80-yard touchdown run as Karns City went up 25-13 with 7:37 left in the quarter as the try for two failed.
St. Marys was forced to punt on their next possession. The Gremlins scored on their next possession as they drove 70 yards on seven plays as Dakota Mohney scored from 10 yards out, making the score 31-13 with 1:49 left in the period as the PAT was blocked.
The Dutch began a drive that started on their own 30 and ran out of downs on the Karns City 34 and were forced to punt. Karns City took over on their own 16 with 8:45 left to go in the game.
On a third and four play, Dutchman Todd Barnes intercepted the Gremlin pass and returned it for a touchdown, making the score 31-19 with 7:10 left as the try for two failed.
Karns City took over on their own 28 after the kickoff. On first down, quarterback Tyler Kepple went around left end on an 82-yard scamper to give the Gremlins the 37-19 lead with 6:50 left. Moore added the PAT to make it 38-19.
Behind the running of Feldbauer, the Dutch moved from their own 25 to the 46 of Karns City. Matt Fitzgerald picked up a yard to the 45. On third down, Jordan Straub gained three yards to the 42. A facemask penalty by Karns City moved the ball to the 37. Fitzgerald gained two to the 35. Straub picked up seven to the 28 and a first down. On first down, Straub gained four to the 24. On second and six, Straub broke free around left end for a 24-yard touchdown, making the score 38-25 as the try for two failed with 1:24 left in the game.
Karns City ran three plays as the clock ran out with Karns City on top 38-25.

Game notes
The Dutchmen are now 0-1 overall and 0-1 in the KSAC Big School Division.

The Dutch will play host to the Keystone Panthers next Friday at 7 p.m. on Elementary Night.